


starry eyed & lost in you

by crashqueen



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, just them being gross and in love and happy honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3462596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crashqueen/pseuds/crashqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Alec has an essay, Magnus is a Bad Influence with grand romantic gestures, and his boyfriend will always cave for him. Post-COHF. Lots of happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	starry eyed & lost in you

“And what grain of sand grates against your soul this evening, dearest love?”

Alec jolted with a start out of the half slumber he'd been slouched over his desk in. “Wha—” He blinked rapidly, rubbing dazedly at his eyes. A feather light laugh rang from the window, and Alec was only half surprised to see Magnus's glowing face dangled upside-down in front of it. The warlock grinned ear to ear, cat eyes glittering with promise.

“It's not a grain of sand,” Alec responded irritably after a moment of collecting himself, trying not to laugh at the way Magnus's hair looked like it was standing on end. Or just smile with woozy relief at his presence, which felt more like a salvation than a distraction. “It's a fucking boulder.” To make his point, he gestured grandly at the crumpled papers, open textbooks, and empty cans of energy drink that littered his desk. “My life is abysmal.”

“Is that so?” Magnus smiled sympathetically, tapping the window with a long, manicured nail. Blue sparks burst where he touched it, the lock clicked, and the window creaked open.

Alec was sorely tempted to run off with Magnus, essay be damned. Responsibilities, he reminded himself sternly. “Yes. I have a twenty page paper entirely in Archaic Latin, and it's not going to write itself.”

Magnus, who presumably had been using his feet to cling onto the vines snaking up the side of the university wall, swung into Alec's room like a monkey. He landed with no grace and a terrific thud, and certainly looked very pleased with himself about it. “How can you be so sure? I happen to speak excellent Archaic Latin.” He was clothed in only a maroon V-neck and blue jeans, and the effect was startling.

“Tempting,” read: extremely tempting, “but I'll have to pass. I still have a scrap of academic integrity left.” Just a scrap. A scrap whose size was diminishing by the millisecond. “Besides, I'm not really sure you can write for shit.”

Magnus managed to look royally offended. “I happen to be a man of the arts, my dear. Me and Shakespeare, good ol' Willy, were peas of a pod.”

“Shakespeare and I,” Alec corrected him, because he felt like being difficult.

“You are impossible.” Magnus leaned over and kissed him, pressed his smile against the shape of Alec's lips in a quick and fond gesture. Alec yanked him back in by the stupidly low collar, kissed him slower and sweeter, a long, gentle, lingering affair that still ended too soon.

“So I've been told.” Alec turned wearily back toward his desk. “Now go away. I have an essay.”

“If you were going to send me away, you should have done it before you kissed me like that,” Magnus replied coolly, sprawling himself out on Alec's twin sized bed like a cat. “Come on, Alexander, let's have a proper adventure.”

“I love you, but I do not want my head on a spike courtesy of my father because I flunked out of Ancient Dialects 201.”

“I also do not want that, because I also love you. But you've given me no choice.” He began repeatedly jabbing Alec's shoulder, whining, “Let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go—”

“What are you doing?” Alec slapped his hand away indignantly.

“Being a terrible influence and manipulating you into making irresponsible choices that will ultimately lead to the destruction of your academic career,” Magnus recited dutifully, flashing his teeth. It was a direct quote from Mrs. Lightwood. Alec couldn't help himself anymore; he crumpled over with laughter.

“Okay, okay. I'll grab a jacket.”

Magnus whirled on him eagerly. “Really?”

“Yes. Don't give me time to think about it or I'll realize how stupid we're being.” Alec tugged on a worn cardigan the color of a robin's egg, one Magnus was forever saying brought out his eyes. Smiling, he leaned and gave his boyfriend a peck on the cheek. “Let's go.”

“You are magnificent,” Magnus whispered solemnly.

Alec puffed out his chest a little, positively preening. “I know.” There had been a time when he responded to compliments with a shy shake of the head and a hasty denial. Magnus felt a burst of pride. “Now what's our first stop of the night, Mr. Bad Influence?”

“That sounds deliciously risqué and sexy, and I insist you refer to me as that always.”

The statement did not dignify a response.

“Here.”

With great suddenness, Alec found himself encircled by the hips in Magnus's arms, and a moment later flung out the window.

Alec was a Shadowhunter, which meant he didn't scream (very much). He brought his knees up to his chest, cradled his neck to keep it from snapping, and began enthusiastically plotting his boyfriend's murder. He was fully prepared to hit the ground rolling, but the ground came a few seconds earlier than he'd been ready for and mostly he just slammed it like a rock.

“What...” That was not a five story fall. That hadn't even been a five foot fall.

A familiar sound bubbled up behind him, one that Alec had once described as lyrical and which he now considered devilish. Magnus was laughing.

The two of them were in a hot air balloon. Of course, it was glamored for invisibility, but Alec saw right through it. “You're an asshole.”

“I've had dreadful experiences with hot air balloons,” Magnus said, ignoring him entirely. “I thought if anybody could redeem them for me, it was you.” He began untying the ropes that bound the balloon to the university.

“You're an asshole,” Alec repeated.

“The last time I was in one of these, I had snuck the Queen Marie Antoinette out of a vampire den and was attempting to smuggle her out of France. And, well.” A shadow crossed his face. “You pay attention in history and know how well that went, I suppose.”

Alec tilted his head, an unspoken question on his lips.

“And no, we did not,” Magnus told him gently. “She could be a dreadful woman, truth be told. But her spirit was as bright and unwavering as a candle flame. And as easily snuffed out, unfortunately.”

Magnus was so full of stories these days—or always had been, just hadn't been willing to share them. Alec took a long moment to remind himself how lucky he was, even if his boyfriend was sort of an asshole who took pleasure in throwing him out of windows.

“There's a term for it,” Magnus informed him cheerily, and Alec wondered if maybe he'd accidentally spoken aloud. “Throwing people out of windows. It's called defenestration.” Grinning and waving his fingers in a _watch this_ gesture, he leaned and spit into the burner, lighting a brilliant blue flame that flickered green, purple, and black before finally settling into normal colors.

“Showoff.” Alec smiled anyway. “Seriously though, where are we going?”

“One place of my selection and one of yours,” Magnus replied, and returned his boyfriend's smile with an ease that made him painfully grateful to be alive.

Alec got that cute little furrow between his brows and frowned a little as he began mulling it over. “Well, what's your selection?”

“Time will tell.”

The balloon ride passed in dazed quiet, leaning quietly against each other, leaned against the basket letting the wind ripple across their clothing like something out of Titanic. Alec couldn't really deny any of Isabelle's complaints and gags anymore. They were disgusting. And he loved it.

They landed at last at the peak of a foothill where tall, sweet smelling grass swayed and whispered like the ocean. Magnus had brought a picnic blanket, of all things, and true to form it came complete in garish hot pink with glitter and a satin trim and little tassels.

“You are an embarrassment.”

“I know.”

And that was that, Alec thought, an idyllic night spread out under the stars with nothing but them and their love and the galaxy. And he was content.

And then the stars began to fall.

(That wasn't accurate; they were meteors hurtling to their death. They were not stars. Alec was not compelled to care.)

He sat up abruptly, awestruck, and Magnus rose beside him. There must have been hundreds of them winking against the night sky, illuminating everything. It was the second most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

“Oh my god.”

Magnus grinned. “Make a wish, Alexander,” he murmured, and kissed the back of his neck.

Alec considered for a moment. “You know,” he said after a moment of profound surprise, “I can't imagine a single thing I could possibly wish for in this moment.”

Flowers exploded in Magnus's chest, and it would never cease to amaze him, how a few short words from this boy could make an old tired world seem so fresh and bright and new.

They watched the meteor shower in rapt silence, Alec's head cradled against Magnus's chest. When it was over, Magnus beamed fondly down at his boyfriend and asked, “And have you made your choice of our next destination, my Alec?”

“I think,” Alec began, slowly, carefully, “I would like to go to your apartment.”

Magnus blinked. “I could take you anywhere. Vienna. The moon.”

“I'm sure your apartment is included within the scope of 'anything'.” Alec held his gaze with steadfast blue eyes, just a spark of sarcastic mischief against that old reliable steel.

“You are devastatingly simple.” The statement earned him a quick punch in the shoulder and Alec pretending to be upset and snorting _what is that supposed to mean_ , and Magnus rushed to elaborate. “I mean—you are not very grandiose. You balance me out. And you make lots of sense to me all the time.”

Alec shook his head fondly, rising to his feet and extending a hand to help Magnus to his. “Let's go back to yours, warlock,” and Magnus would never get tired of hearing that word said like a blessing rather than a curse.

Magnus took firm hold of those perfect hands, scarred calloused hands that he could trace out the universe in, and stood. “Yes, let's. I'll write your essay.”

“ _I'll_ write my essay,” Alec chided. “Academic integrity.”

In a burst of spontaneity, Magnus swept his palm beneath the curve of Alec's jaw, tilted his face up toward his and kissed him with enough force to shatter planets, and gave a breathless thanks to some ambiguous entity. Thank you, he thought woozily, thank you I have searched so long and here it is, thank you.

Alec was smiling lopsidedly, bouncing on his heels and swollen lipped when they parted. “What was that for?”

Magnus twined their fingers together tight. 

“You.”

****  
  


**Author's Note:**

> if u read to the end i love u.  
> ps u can guess what the first most beautiful thing alec has ever seen is (:  
> feedback/kudos MUCH appreciated!!! this is my first publish so im nervous. basically i just finished city of heavenly fire and i am emotionally wrekd


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